Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day after repeated disruptions from a united opposition which demanded an apology from prime minister Narendra Modi over his statement on black money. The parties, led by the Congress, wanted PM Modi to make a statement and sit through the debate on demonetisation. The uproar in Parliament comes as the Left parties have called for a ‘Bharat bandh’ today to protest against the government’s decision to demonetise high-value currency notes without proper planning. Earlier in the day, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi chaired a strategy meeting of party MPs. He reiterated that “the PM should come and talk to us inside the House”. This is the ninth day that both Houses of Parliament are being washed out.

The government meanwhile has expressed confidence in its demonetisation decision and said the masses supported it whole-heartedly. The BJP said the nationwide protests will not be successful as several parties like the JD(U) are not supporting it.